Kx Systems, a high-performance database and time-series analytics provider, has augmented its executive team, appointing Mark Sykes as its newest Global Market Strategist, according to a Kx Systems statement.

In his new role as the Global Market Strategist, Mr. Sykes will be promoting and expanding Kx Systems’ kdb+ database solution to other financial services, as well as eying greater market penetration into such sectors as energy, pharmaceuticals and click-stream analytics – he will be based out of London.

Mr. Sykes joins Kx Systems with over two decades of experience in both capital markets and data analytics. Recent stops include Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BOML) as its Global Head of Algorithmic Solutions, where he introduced the FX execution platform built on kdb+.

Suggested articles

Prior to BOML, he also held a number of senior level roles at Citigroup and Deutsche Bank, including respective stints as a Director of FX and the Head of Algorithmic Trading.

According to Mr. Sykes in a recent statement on the appointment, “I’ve worked closely with kdb+ over the years and seen it become the industry standard for handling tick data at large financial institutions. We’re now witnessing even greater demand for time-series data solutions from the middle office, where real-time analytics is so crucial to enterprise risk management. I’ll be focusing on opportunities in financial services and in other sectors where kdb+ is ideally suited, like click analytics and smart metering.”

“Mark brings a wealth of experience tackling large and complex data projects within financial institutions. Having operated with us on the client-side, he has a great deal of insight into kdb+ and truly understands its potential across a range of industries. He will be hugely valuable in taking our business forward and achieving our growth ambitions,” added Janet Lustgarten, CEO at Kx, in an accompanying statement.

Just last week, Kx Systems was selected by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to provide their kdb+ database solution. Kx Systems is majority owned by First Derivatives, whose target market has been financial firms such as banks and hedge funds utilizing their ‘high performance’ solutions to handle their market data database needs.